Birsan is Concord's new mayor, Obringer is vice mayor

At the Tuesday, Dec. 5 Concord City Council meeting, outgoing Mayor Laura Hoffmeister turned over the gavel to Edi Birsan after he was selected by fellow councilmembers as the City's mayor for 2018. Councilmember Carlyn Obringer was selected to serve as vice mayor. Birsan, Obringer and Councilmembers Tim McGallian and Ron Leone thanked Hoffmeister for her two-year service as mayor. Earlier this year, the City Council voted to change the mayor's term from two years to one year.

Mayor Birsan was elected to the City Council in November 2012 and re-elected in 2016. He is an active community leader and has served in many positions, from the Director of Community Services for Concord-Diablo Rotary and the President of the Friends of the Library to volunteer for numerous non-profit organizations.

Birsan came to Concord in 1983 working for a global, inter-modal container leasing company. He started his own company in 1986, which currently focuses on certification/inspection and service in the inter-modal equipment field. He was born and raised in New York City where he earned his B.A. degree in dual majors of History and Political Science from City University-CCNY. He and his wife, high school sweethearts, have raised two generations in Concord and have lived in the same house since 1983 in the area off of Monument Boulevard.

Vice Mayor Obringer was elected to the City Council in November 2016. She previously served on the City's Design Review Board and the Planning Commission, which she chaired. She is the former chair of Monument Impact and the Contra Costa Commission on the Status of Women, and a past President of Soroptimist International of Diablo Vista. In addition, Obringer has been active in many local organizations.

Earlier in the evening, Hoffmeister presented Chuck Gabrysiak of the Concord Historical Society with the Mayor's 2017 Community Service Award. Gabrysiak has been instrumental over the years in leading the organization's renovation projects at the historic Galindo House and the former Masonic Temple.

For more information, contact the City Manager's office at (925) 671-3158.